Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Busting a Belt

Okay, so I wrote the previous entry over 2 months ago. I'm here now, okay?

I wrote about how I had quit smoking and started lifting weights. Both of those are really new to me. I've smoked since I was a teenager, and weight lifting looked like a waste of effort. But I changed. I figured if people complain about gaining weight after smoking, I might as well make sure it was muscle.

To be sure, it has been a success! In those 2 months I have put on close to 30 pounds! Most of that has been muscle, especially since I can easily see it on my arms, legs and chest. Unfortunately I also saw a lot going to the belly.

Being a newcomer to all of this, I figured I needed to eat. Lots! And I did. I knew enough to know that sweets and such weren't the way to go. I knew I wanted protein, so anything that had protein quickly slid down my gullet.

I fell in love with the sausage, egg and cheese croisants at Burger King. I had one every morning, then a big lunch. Of course snacking and eating all through the day. The pounds came quick, and so did the stomach.

Now being a normally skinny person, I freaked out when my stomach suddenly became a belly! I think anyone who is naturally thin can relate to the horror of having body fat on your own body! Have you ever seen a skinny guy with a beer belly? It's worse looking than almost any fat person!

The breaking point came when my belt broke on me. I was putting it on, stretching to get to the usual hole when the buckle came flying off!

So, I am revisiting the diet and what actually gets eaten. That's a major change. Plus getting some aerobic workouts in between the weight sessions should help burn off fat. I may not weigh in at 200 pounds by year end like I wanted, but the muscles will look a lot better if they aren't covered in fat!